A passionate plea to restore democracy

After 37 years on the Bench, latterly as Lord Chief Justice, Igor Judge couldn't be better qualified to pronounce on the European Court of Human Rights.

Certainly, he is vastly more experienced than the court's empire-building president, Dean Spielmann of Luxembourg (population 538,000), a former assistant law lecturer at a Belgian university.

So when Lord Judge, with no political axe to grind, declares that the ECHR is usurping Parliament's sovereignty and must 'stop here', every MP should heed him.

'This is a court which can't be
overruled by anybody,' he says. 'I genuinely don't think that a body of
judges – however distinguished – should have that power.'

In
truth, the ECHR's judges are too often miserably undistinguished. Most
have no judicial experience. Some come from countries smaller than the
London borough of Islington yet have votes equal to Germany's or
Britain's.

But these are the
people who assert their supremacy over our Parliamentary democracy –
whether demanding votes for prisoners, denying our right to deport
foreign terrorists or otherwise setting criminals' rights above those
of victims.

As Lord Judge
says, the fault isn't in the human rights convention, admirably drawn up
to defend Europe against the return of concentration camps.

Rather,
it lies in its interpretation by judges who appear to believe they are
'entitled to tell every country in Europe how to organise itself'.